Xzibit Says Working With Dr. Dre Was Like Being In 'The Avengers'

Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic

Xzibit has compared working with Dr. Dre to being in The Avengers.

The two have a collaborative partnership going back more than 25 years and recently reconnected for X’s new album Kingmaker with Dre featuring on the track “Leave Me Alone”.

Sitting down for a chat with Billboard, X opened up about what it’s like to work with the legendary producer.

He said: “When we did ‘Bitch Please’ together. The insanity of it was being a fan first and then you basically get recruited into The Avengers. I’ll never lose that feeling, because it keeps things in perspective. The direction Dre gives when he’s in the studio only elevates the record, because you rely on his experience. Even if it takes you out of your comfort zone.”

The Pimp My Ride host also revealed that “Leave Me Alone” was a last minute addition to his first album in over a decade.

He continued: “We were supposed to come out on March 28, and then [‘Leave Me Alone’] came in. I was like, ‘Oh shit!’ It was crazy. Swizz Beatz actually did the track and Dre did co-production, and just to have both of them together on a track, I don’t think that’s ever been done. It was really exciting. To have Dre on the album after all this time means the world to me. He’s my brother, he’s coach.”

As well as Dr. Dre, Kingmaker features a number of other appearances from Hip Hop legends with Ice Cube, Redman and Busta Rhymes all on the tracklist.

Other features on the album include Royce Da 5’9″, Ty Dolla $ign, B-Real and JasonMartin.

The album has previously undergone a number of delays, with Xzibit explaining on social media that the release date was pushed back due to him making some “last minute additions.”

He also said to NME: “I’ve been working on music off-and-on for the last 10 to 12 years but I didn’t feel like it was what I needed to put out. I didn’t feel like it was different enough. [I was] able to hear something in myself that I hadn’t heard before, so it made it easy to know [it was time to release the music].”